# Zayd Ali

> Zayd Ali is the founder and CEO of Valley, a New York based AI SDR that runs LinkedIn-first outbound for B2B teams by learning a company's product, cloning its best reps' voice, and booking sales meetings. He sold his first appointment-setting company for seven figures while still in high school, briefly studied at Columbia, joined Antler in 2022, and after starting and shelving a founder-VC network called Fish, pivoted into Valley. He took 136 investor meetings before closing a seed round that grew to roughly $3M from backers including Antler, Jason Calacanis, and General Catalyst's Fellows program.

- **Role:** Founder & CEO at Valley
- **Organizations:** Valley, Antler
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Undergraduate studies (left to build full-time), Columbia University
- **Known for:** Sold his first company for seven figures while still in high school, Co-founded and exited two startups before age 21 (acquirers reported as NSV and Done! Ventures), Raised roughly $3M for Valley from Antler, Jason Calacanis, and General Catalyst's Fellows program

## Career timeline

- **~2021** — Built and sold his first company, an appointment-setting business, for seven figures while still in high school at 18
- **2022** — Joined Antler's accelerator; began studies at Columbia University
- **2022** — Started Fish, a social network connecting founders and venture capitalists
- **2023** — Pivoted from Fish to Valley, an AI SDR for LinkedIn-first outbound
- **2023** — Closed a seed round after 136 investor meetings; round grew to roughly $3M
- **2024-2026** — Scaling Valley from New York, reporting 94% lower cost per qualified meeting and 10-50x reply rates

## Achievements

- Sold his first company for seven figures while still in high school
- Co-founded and exited two startups before age 21 (acquirers reported as NSV and Done! Ventures)
- Raised roughly $3M for Valley from Antler, Jason Calacanis, and General Catalyst's Fellows program
- Persuaded Antler to invest despite winning only 1 of 7 committee votes on the original concept
- Reported reducing cost per qualified sales appointment by 94% and tripling top-of-funnel within 14 days of onboarding a customer

## Latest updates

- **2026** — Continuing to build Valley as a New York 'Sales OS' company, positioning it as an AI SDR for LinkedIn-first outbound with an approval workflow rather than fully automated sends.

## Links

- Website: https://joinvalley.co
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zayd-syed-ali-4201101a9
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/zaydsyedali

---

Profile page: https://yespress.io/zayd-ali
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-20